FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Fairfield University field hockey team opens the 2023 campaign with a road trip to Hofstra University on Tuesday afternoon. The Stags play their first two matches of the season away from campus including Friday's meeting with seventh-ranked University of Iowa, a contest which will be played in Albany, N.Y.
 
Recent History

• The Pride picked up a victory in the previous meeting between these two teams, a match which was decided by shootout after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw after 80 minutes of play in the Fall of 2021. The win ended Fairfield's three-game winning streak in the series with the Stags coming out on top in the 2017, 2018, and the 2020-21 spring season.

 
About Fairfield

• Fairfield comes off another successful season, a campaign which ended in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Championship Game last November. The Stags posted an 11-9 overall record and a 5-2 mark in NEC play during the 2022 season. Fairfield won six of its final seven regular-season games before splitting two games in the NEC Championship in early November.
• The Stags were selected as the favorite in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, collecting six of the eight first-place votes. Fairfield returns three student-athletes who earned All-NEC honors a year ago, namely Madison Milhous, Carmel Van Dijk, and Frances Mirabile.
• Senior Carmel Van Dijk returns as the team's top scorer, recording three goals and six assists for 13 points during her 20 appearances.  Sophomore Alex Senior comes off a solid rookie campaign, tallying five goals and two assists for 12 points. Goalkeeper Payton Rahn established herself as one of the conference's top goalkeepers, registering a 1.87 goals against average with a .721 save percentage (98 saves in 20 appearances.

 
About Hofstra

• The Pride will play their second straight match against an NEC opponent after opening the season with an 8-0 win over the Warriors. Hofstra held a slim 1-0 edge at the half before recording four goals in the third quarter and three more in the fourth quarter.  Six different student-athletes scored a goal in the game with Silvia Vetter and Pilar Penaloza each netting a pair.
• Hofstra comes off a six-win campaign in 2022 with one of those wins coming in CAA play. Samantha Spera ended the season as the team's top scorer, tallying four goals and one assist for nine points. Simryn Desai also was responsible for four goals while Teresa Karoff posted two goals and four assists as a rookie.
• Hofstra was selected sixth in the CAA Preseason Coaches Poll while sophomore Jamie Mc Millan was named to the Preseason All-CAA Team following a stellar rookie season on the back line.

 
On The Horizon

• Following Fairfield's two-game road trip, the Stags will make their home debut on Monday, September 4. The game is slated for an 11 am start at University Field on the Fairfield campus. The date is one of seven home dates during the 2023 campaign and the first of two home games in September (Villanova on September 24).